Method of producing ringless knitted fabrics



Nov. 14, 1939. c. D. GALLAGHER 2179,785

METHOD OF PRODUCING RINGLESS KNITTED FABRICS Filed NOV. .30, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N V EN TOR:

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METHOD OF PRODUCING RINGLESS KNITTED FABRICS Filed Nov. 30, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 W 1 TN ESSES I N VEN TOR:

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2,179,785 METHOD OF PRODUCING RINGLESS KNITTED FABRICS Clarence D. Gallagher, Philadelphia, Pa, assignor of one-half to William Sch'rem, Philadelphia,

Application November 30, 1937, Serial No. 177,208 2 Claims. 01. 66-169) This invention relates to methods of producing ringless knitted fabric, that is to say, fine gauge silk or chiffon fabric for stockings or the like devoid of horizontal streaks or rings which ordinarily result as a. consequence of variations in the thickness of the yarn.

Ordinarily, ringless fabric is produced by use of a plurality of yarns of the same nominal gauge and characteristics, one yarn being fed during knitting of one course of the fabric, the

next during knitting of another course, and so on, with repetitions of this cycle so that inequalities present in the yarns are promiscuously distributed and the horizontal streaks or rings thereby avoided. For the. practice of the above method considerable changes have to be made in existing knitting machines with addition of highly complicated and expensive mechanism for determining sequential operation of the carriers by which the several yarns are successively fed to the needles.

The chief aim of my invention is to make possible the production of ringless knitted fabric without entailing the use of more than a single yarn. This objective I attain as-hereinafter more fully disclosed through provision of a simple method predicated upon repetitions of a knitting cycle in which the loops of a number of successive courses are varied within prescribed limits so that the efiects of thickness variations in the single yarn are neutralized and horizontal streaks or rings avoided.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. I shows a skeletonized cross sectional view of a full fashioned stocking knitting machine of the Cotton" type embodying mechanism fordetermining the production of ringless fabric in accordance with my invention.

Fig. II is a fragmentary perspective view partly showing the needle actuating and loop regulating mechanisms of the machine.

Fig. III is a fragmentary view in front elevation looking as indicated by the arrows IIIIII The knitting machine herein illustrated is generally of standard construction. its vertically movable spring beard needles and horizontally slidable sinkers being indicated respectively at l and 2, and a yarn carrier at 3. As usual, the needles I are serially arranged and fixed in a longitudinally-extending bar 4 which is pivoted to the ends of a plurality of horizontal arms, whereof one is shown at 5 in Figs. I and II, reaching inwardly from a horizontal rock shaft 6. Through coaction between a pendant roller arm 1 on the rock shaft 6 and a rotary cam (not shown) on the main cam shaft 8 of the machine up and down movements are imparted to the needles I relative to the sinkers 2 as required in loop formation. During descent of the needles I, the needle bar 4 is rocked about the pivotal connections 4a so that the needle beards are closed by contact with a fixed presser ledge 9 afforded by the sinker supporting bed It). This beard pressing movement is induced in a well known way as a consequence of coaction between another rotary cam II (Fig. II) on the cam shaft 8, and a roller Ma on an arm l2 pendant from a second horizontal rock shaft l3 of the machine, said arm being subject to the pull of a spring l4 and connected to a drop arm I5 on the needle bar 4 by a link I6 which overreaches said cam shaft. As illustrated, the loop regulating mechanism of the knitting machine is of the construction disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,417,289, granted to Melchior-Zwicky, May 3, 80 1932. Briefly described, this mechanism includes an arm I l which is fixed on the loop regulating shaft l8 and which has a lateral stud projection l9 at its free end against which the roller l2a on the arm I 2 is held under the action of 85 the spring M as shown in Fig. II.

Free on the loop regulating shaft I8 is an arm 20 with a roller 2| adapted to be acted upon by another rotary cam 22 on the cam shaft 8,

and secured to said loop regulating shaft alongside the arm 20 is an arm 23. Threaded into a boss 25 on the arm 23 is a sleeve 26 in which the shank of an adjusting screw 21 is axially engaged (FigaII) with its rear end projecting beyond said sleeve and contacting with the roller arm 20, such contact being maintained through influence of a spring 28 (Figs. I and IV) upon said arm 23.' Freely fulcrumed on the shank of the adjusting screw 21 is a hand lever 29 with a guide lug 30 at the back fora spring pressed latch bolt 3! which engages a toothed wheel 32 fixed on a screw sleeve 26, and with a similar guide lug 33 at the front for a spring pressed detent 3% for engaging a toothed head 35 of the screw. Movement of the lever 29 in one direction will result in increase in the size of the fabric loops formed by the needles, and movement of said lever in the opposite direction will determine a decrease in the size of the fabric loops by changing the operative relation of the needles I to the sinkers 2 in the manner clearly explained in the Zwicky patent supra.

For the purpose of automatically controlling the loop regulating means of the knitting machine to determine production of ringless fabric in accordance with my invention, there is provided additional mechanism as follows:

Fixedly mounted on the front rail 36 of the machine frame is a pedestal bracket 31 which supports a stud 38 whereon is freely fulcrumed an arm 39 with a roller 40 arranged to ride on the periphery of a special split rotary cam 4| affixed to the cam shaft 8., A spring 42 serves to urge the arm 39 toward the shaft so that the roller 40 on the latter is yieldingly maintained in engagement with the cam 4| which, as shown, has a single peripheral rise 4|a so that said arm is actuated once for each rotation of the cam shaft 8. Pivoted at 42 on the arm 39 is a pawl 43, which, by means of a spring 44 is held to a ratchet wheel 45 free on the stud 38. To the ratchet wheel 45 is secured a disk 46 with a circumferentially-arranged series of cam blocks 41 which are of different thicknesses arranged at one side thereof individually secured by screws 48, and which correspond in number to the teeth of said ratchet wheel. Fulcrumed at 49 on a lateral projection 50 (Fig. IV) of the bearing bracket 31 is an upright arm 5| which is subject to the pull of the spring 52, so that a roller 53 on said arm is maintained in contact with the cam blocks 41 on the disk 46. By means of a lengthwise adjustable horizontal link 54, the arm 5| is coupled with the'hand lever 29 of the loop regulating mechanism of the knitting machine. As shown, the link 54 is permanently connected at one end to the arm 5| by a headed screw stud 55, and is notched at its other end as at 54a to hook over the shank of a headed screw stud 56 threaded into the back of the hand lever 29. Thus, when required, the link may be uncoupled from the hand lever 29 by swinging it upward about its pivotal connection 55 with the arm 5|.

By action of the supplemental mechanism just described, it will be seen that during each rotation of the cam shaft 8 (corresponding to a course of the knitting), the ratchet wheel 45 is rotatively shifted so that a new cam block 41 on the disk 46 is advanced into engagement with the roller 53 on the arm 5| and the movement incidentally induced in the latter, communicated to the hand lever 29 of the loop regulating mechanism of the knitting machine to effect a change in loop length, the cam 4| being so positioned on the shaft that the change occurs after the yarn carrier 3 reaches the ends of its traverse. In the present instance, there are twenty-four of the cam blocks 41 subdivided into eight groups of three each, the component blocks of these groups being similarly arranged and graded as to thickness after the manner shown in Fig. III. As a consequence, the loop changing cycle is recurrent for every three courses of the knitting with variation in the loop size as between the three courses, so that thickness variations in the single yarn employed in the knitting are compensated for and horizontal streaks or rings precluded as previously pointed out. It is of course to be understood that the cam blocks 41 may be otherwise arranged and grouped on the disk 46 for comprehension of a greater or lesser number of fabric courses in each cycle as may be found convenient or desirable in practice.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The method of producing ringless knitted fabric from a single yarn by repetitions of a cycle involving a fixed number of courses in excess of two, which comprises varying the size of the loops as between said courses while maintaining the 

